ABSTRACT
Eugenic ideology has long operated as a framework for understanding human ability, intelligence, and ultimately overall worth. Peaking in the early decades of the twentieth century, just as the modern system of education in the United States was being conceived and formed, the eugenics movement was broadly accepted as the way to a better society free of poverty and disease. This chapter traces the contours of this belief system to reveal the extent to which common assumptions in the modern era about race, class, gender, and ability are rooted in a pre-Nazi era plan to “cleanse” the human race. Using basic knowledge of genetics, along with newly developed IQ testing, eugenicists created a utopian narrative that relied on biological determinism. The chapter explores ways that eugenic ideology has permeated virtually all major societal institutions including education, housing, voting rights, and the healthcare and justice systems. This chapter will trace the influence of eugenic ideology for its role in creating a hierarchy of human worth in the U.S. that has permeated the democratic process, education, and virtually every major social institution.
